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PFAA Demands Dave Castro's Removal From CrossFit's Sport Team

August 21st, 2024

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Good morning and welcome to the Morning Chalk Up.

In today’s edition:

  • In a statement released yesterday, the Professional Fitness Athletes Association demanded Dave Castro “be removed from his position in the Sport Team.” We talked with PFAA President Brent Fikowski and COO Grace Paulus. Learn more below.

  • We know that CrossFit Games athletes are both physically gifted and work incredibly hard. What else do they do really well, and what can we learn from them?

  • In 2015, medical volunteer and physician Adam Schulte raised concerns about CrossFit’s emergency action plans before the Games. In the aftermath of “Murph” in Carson that year, he wrote an open letter urging HQ to make changes to protect athlete safety. His concerns were brushed aside, and he was not allowed to volunteer on the medical team again.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“There’s strength in all of us, hopefully, sticking together in a really strong, unified group.” - Brent Fikowski, PFAA President, in an interview with Morning Chalk Up to discuss its public statement yesterday.

CROSSFIT GAMES

Credit: Mike Halpin, @known_knowable / Instagram

PFAA Calls for Dave Castro’s Removal From CrossFit’s Sport Team

On the afternoon of August 20, the Professional Fitness Athletes’ Association (PFAA) demanded that the Director of the CrossFit Games, Dave Castro, “be removed from his position in [CrossFit’s] Sport Team.”

The news was delivered directly to CrossFit CEO Don Faul at 1 p.m. PT.

Two other demands the PFAA made to Faul this afternoon included:

  • “An appropriate level of transparency between CrossFit and the PFAA regarding their 3rd party investigation as to the death of Lazar Dukic and subsequent changes made to protect all athletes going forward.”

  • “CrossFit creates an independent safety team to liaise with the PFAA on an ongoing basis.”

This comes in the aftermath of Lazar Đukić’s death during the swim portion of Event 1 at the 2024 CrossFit Games 12 days ago. 

Remind me: The PFAA was formed in July 2020 — in the midst of uncertainty surrounding the sport due to the global pandemic and CrossFit’s very public ownership change — and was officially incorporated as a Washington-based non-profit. 

The details: The PFAA’s position is that, based on years of CrossFit’s unwillingness to engage meaningfully in the areas of athlete safety and risk mitigation during events, they no longer have trust in Castro.

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SPEED READS

Talking Elite Fitness — Sunday at the Games Series: Tommy Marquez and Lauren Kalil were on the ground at the 2024 CrossFit Games and interviewed athletes, coaches, and managers on the final day of the competition. Check out the series so far to hear their thoughts on the gravity of the events in Fort Worth and how they were navigating it:

B. Friendly Fitness Games Q&A with Games Champ James Sprague: Brian Friend and Patrick Clark went live earlier this week to answer questions, chat with 2024 Games champ James Sprague, and give an update on “what’s next.” Watch here.

“Independent Third-Party Investigation” Update: Last Friday night, CrossFit CEO Don Faul emailed 2024 Games athletes directly to share an update about the investigation into Lazar Ðukić’s death in Event 1.

  • CrossFit has contracted Peter Edge, the CEO and founder of Controlled Strategies and a former director at Homeland Security Investigations, the principal investigative arm of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Lazar Ðukić Support Funds have been set up here and here for those who are able to give.

ICYMI: “Cardio is Queen” and four other quick takeaways from the Women’s Division at the 2024 CrossFit Games.

MEMBER EXCLUSIVE

Credit: Frank Nguyen

What Do Elite CrossFit Athletes Do Really Well?

Recently, a nutrition client asked me, “What are the elites doing really well?” 

I considered his question carefully before answering it, and I decided to seek feedback from my colleagues at Training Think Tank (TTT). 

Some of the coaches at Training Think Tank have been in the field for many years and have worked with many elite athletes. 

  • They provided helpful insights from their years of experience, and I’m excited to share our thoughts with you.

The consensus from all the coaches was that there were two major areas where elite athletes excel beyond all expectations, as well as a few other attributes that I’ll take a deep dive into below. 

1. They Know Themselves Best

This can be applied to many areas, but let’s start with fitness first. 

Coach Kyle Ruth said, “They know when they have to ‘drop the hammer’ in a workout and they know when they have to pull back.” 

  • He elaborated: “They also know when they need to accumulate volume [in training] and when a tweak is starting to flare and they need to back off.”

CROSSFIT GAMES

Credit: Scott Freymond

Former CrossFit Games Medical Volunteer Says He Was Banned for Speaking Out About Safety Concerns in 2015

When Kara Saunders (Webb at the time) collapsed after crossing the finish line of Event 3, “Murph,” on Friday, July 24, at the 2015 CrossFit Games, it was clear she needed immediate medical attention.

  • It’s a moment in Games history that many remember and one that would be recalled following the death of Lazar Đukić at the 2024 CrossFit Games, almost 10 years later.

Adam Schulte was a volunteer sports medicine physician on the EMS/Medical team in 2015 (as well as at Regionals and the Games in 2013 and 2014) and raised alarm bells regarding health and safety concerns, both before and after the results of Murph that year. 

  • But many likely don’t recognize his name because after he published an op-ed critical of CrossFit on the website T-Nation in late July 2015, Schulte was never invited back to work at another CrossFit HQ-sanctioned event. 

The death of 28-year-old Đukić has triggered many in the CrossFit community to speak up and recall instances in the past that perhaps should have raised bigger red flags than they thought at the time. 

HIGHLIGHTS

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